Jonathan Thompson, 79

Jonathan Thompson, aged 79, of Cazenovia, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family, on Monday, July 4, 2016. He is mourned by a circle of family and friends who remember what a family man he was first and foremost. Everyone who knew him agrees: he was an uncommonly kind and caring, thoughtful and generous man.
Jonathan was born on Oct. 12, 1936, in Syracuse,  to George and Sara Thompson who preceded him in death. He attended Cazenovia schools, Manlius Pebble Hill and The Salisbury School in Connecticut and served two years in the U.S. Army.
Jon was a career salesman, early in his adult life employed by Bartlett Tree Services and then in the promotional advertising business for many years. He owned his own business and was later an independent contractor who provided artistic advice and sold imprinted goods to a number of local businesses, educational institutions and nonprofit organizations.
In his church life at Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church in Cazenovia and DeWitt Community Church, he served as a deacon, on committees, and contributed his beautiful bass voice to the choir. At both churches, he was active on the Matthew 28 and Christian Caring committees, whose missions were making grants and donations to local nonprofit groups.
He was an avid lifelong skier – many remember his graceful arcing style on the slopes – and served as a ski patrolman at Ironwood Ridge and Mystic Mountain in the 1960s and 1970s. He was a member of the Cazenovia Ski Club for years.
Caught up in his son, Jonathan Jr.’s, early enthusiasm for golf, Jon took up golf in his 40s, and it remained one of his favorite pastimes. He also played tennis regularly with a group of close friends. He was a lifelong member and past president and board member for thirty years of the Cazenovia Club.
Anyone who’s visited Jon and Mary’s beautiful home knows Jon’s creative touch in the yard and garden. He delighted in giving tours of the special wooded garden he’d envisioned and planted, pointing out clumps of flowers he’d foraged in the woods, wooden statues his father had created and special plants he’d hunted far and wide to find.
He is survived by his devoted wife of 55 years, Mary Burton Thompson; daughter Amy (Steve) Landry, Conway, MA; daughter Elizabeth (Jeff) Barclay, Sunderland, VT; son Jonathan (Denise) Thompson Jr., Upper Arlington, OH; brother W. Hunt Thompson; sister Sara (Eliot) Orton; sister Susan (Neil) Woodside; and seven grandchildren, Benjamin, Owen, Dylan, Julia, Lauren, Livia and Kennedy.
A memorial service will be held 11 a.m., Friday, July 15, at the DeWitt Community Church, 3600 Erie Blvd. East, Syracuse, NY 13214. A reception will follow in the church parlor.
In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes your contributions to American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge, 197 Summer St., Buffalo, NY 14222, the guest lodging that housed Jonathan and his family during his cancer treatment at Roswell Park.
To leave a message of sympathy for the Thompson family, please visit michaelebrownfuneralservices.com.